Police told man on bridge was distraught Occupy Albany member

Staff report

Updated 8:48 pm, Monday, December 26, 2011

SCHENECTADY — City police say a mentally disturbed man who threatened to harm himself by jumping off the Front Street trestle bridge into the Mohawk River Monday may have been a distraught member of the Occupy Albany group.

Lt. Mark McCracken, a department spokesman, said officers were able to prevent the 19-year-old man from jumping and he was transported to Ellis Hospital where he was to undergo mental evaluation.

McCracken said officers were told by a third party that the man, who police have not identified, had most recently been involved in the Occupy Albany movement. But that could not be immediately confirmed, he said,

The man called emergency dispatch around 3:50 p.m. Monday threatening to jump off the bridge into the waterway, police said. Once officers arrived, they were able to talk him off the bridge and he was taken into custody unharmed.

The incident, which occurred near the Front Street pool in the city's Stockade neighborhood, lasted about 40 minutes. During that time, a boat was launched into the Mohawk. The city fire department and Scotia Police also responded.